Home improvements are an essential part of making a house comfortable and the best it can be for many years. There is a huge range of home improvements that you can undertake on your property. So, it can be difficult to decide what you should improve in your home. However, reading through this guide will give you an idea of what improvements you should be making in 2021.
Replace your heating system
The first place that you should look at is your homes heating system. Your heating system is providing your home with the essentials of heating and hot water. So, making sure you have a reliable and efficient boiler is essential.
Do you need a new boiler?
If you have recently moved into a new build home or have had a new boiler installed in the last five years, then a new boiler will more than likely not be needed in your home. However, if you have a boiler that is older than 15 years or your boiler is constantly breaking down then a new boiler is needed.
Choosing a new boiler
If you do need to replace your boiler there are three things that you want to consider:
- Boiler type: You will want to make sure that the boiler you select is the same time as your current boiler. This way your new boiler will still be able to provide the same amount of heat and hot water your home needs
- Boiler brand: When it comes to choosing a boiler brand, you are free to choose whatever is within your budget range. Some of the top-rated brands however are Vaillant boilers, Worcester Bosch boilers and Ideal boilers.
- Boiler warranty: You will also want to keep an eye on the boiler warranty of the boiler that you have chosen. You will want to get a warranty that has a decent boiler cover so that you can have peace of mind for a few years.
Boiler installer
When it comes to choosing a boiler installer, you will want to make sure that you use a gas safe registered engineer. This way your boiler will stay within the warranty and will not be made void by using an installer that is not gas safe registered.
Draught proof your home
Draught proofing can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days depending on the size of your property. The two main areas you will want to focus on are your windows and doors.
Windows
Draught proofing your windows is quite a simple process that you can do for most windows in your home. You will need to use self-adhesive strips and place them on your window frame so that the gap between the window frame and window is filled. This stops draughts from both inside and outside your home. There are plenty of tutorials for this online that will give a full in-depth guide.
Doors
When it comes to draught-proofing your doors there are multiple ways that you can do this:
- Door brush: You can place a brush at the bottom of your door so that no draught can enter from below the door.
- Letterbox: On your front door you will want to use a letterbox flap or brush to stop any draughts coming through there.
- Gaps on the edge of the door: If there are gaps around the edge of your door frame and the door then you can apply self-adhesive strips to those gaps. However, you need to be careful that your door can still shut.
- Draught excluder: For the doors inside your home, you can use a draught excluder. Placing them at the bottom of a door on the room you are in. This way the heat in that room will not escape. You can purchase these online for as little as £2.
If you find yourself stuck at any point during draught-proofing, there are many guides online that can help you.
Update your bathroom
Updating your bathroom is a home improvement that is often overlooked however it should be on your list of things to do in 2021! There are several ways that you can improve and update your bathroom:
- Update your colour scheme: Update your bathrooms colour scheme to a more neutral colour, such as white. This will make your bathroom seem a lot more modern and open.
- Upgrade your shower: Upgrading the shower in your bathroom will give it a more modern feel. You can either change just the shower head and install a power shower or replace the whole column for a more modern look.
- Install underfloor heating: If you can afford it, underfloor heating is a great addition to any bathroom. Underfloor heating gives a bathroom a modern feel that many people are looking for.
Install LED bulbs
Energy efficiency is a major factor in homes today. With lots of homes wanting to be as energy efficient as they can be, A great home improvement to make to increase your energy efficiency is switching all your bulbs to LEDs. There are a number of reasons why LEDs are better:
- Energy efficiency: LED bulbs have incredible energy efficiency. This is due to using a lot lower wattage to produce the same lumen level as their counterparts. This lower wattage level means you will be using a lot less energy to power your home.
- Eco friendly: With this increased energy efficiency, you will also be decreasing your homes carbon footprint. This is great as being more eco-friendly is helping to save the planet.
- Longer life: LED bulbs have a lifespan of between 10,000 and 50,000 hours, which is between 1 year to 5.5 years.
- Smart bulbs: All smart bulbs are LED bulbs. So, if you are looking to have smart bulbs, that is another reason to go LED.
Update your kitchen
Finally, updating your kitchen. Your kitchen is one of the most important rooms in your home. There are a number of home improvements that can make this room 10x better:
- Replace old devices: Replacing your old kitchen devices is one of the most overlooked home improvements that you can make. Replacing old appliances that are not energy efficient is vital. While it does have a large upfront cost in the long run you will be saving.
- Increase storage space: If you have room for larger cabinets in your kitchen, increasing your storage space can be worth it in the long run. Increased storage space will mean that there will be less clutter around your kitchen, and it will look more modern.
- Update your kitchens lighting: Having a well-lit kitchen is a huge plus in a home. Adding LED lighting under your cabinets means your work surface can be more illuminated. Adding a larger hanging light can also illuminate the whole kitchen more.
- Give your kitchen a fresh colour: Adding some fresh paint to your kitchen will round it off nicely. Choosing a neutral colour such as white or cream can make your kitchen look a lot bigger.
Those are 5 of the top home improvements that you should be making for your home in 2021!